Unitized Group Ration

[2] UGRs are designed to meet the Military Daily Recommended Allowance when averaged over a 5 to 10 day period, with each meal providing between 1,300 and 1,450 kcal.

[7][8] Prior to the UGR's implementation, the U.S. military had several different types of rations used to feed service members in the rear or out of combat.

Among them were the A-ration, consisting of fresh, refrigerated, or frozen food prepared in a kitchen and served in a mess, dining facility, or elsewhere; the B-ration, consisting of packaged, preserved foods prepared in a field kitchen; and the T-ration, a semi-perishable meal packaged, heated, and served in a tray pack similar to frozen meals; among others.

[5][9] However, this created issues for military cooks, who "had to order an average of 34 separate items for each meal, and could only hope that they arrived when needed", forcing them to manage logistics and administrative functions instead of solely food preparation.

[5] Around 1995, the U.S. military launched a modernization program to resolve this issue while also increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of existing rations.

In an effort to simplify logistics and ensure all necessary ingredients were provided, the UGR was created in 1999, combining elements and offerings of the A-ration, B-ration, T-ration, and commercial items.

[5][7][12] The Unitized Group Ration – Heat & Serve (UGR-H&S) is the successor to the T-ration, and consists of precooked, shelf-stable tray pack entrées.

The UGR-H&S is hermetically sealed can be prepared using a tray ration heater or by immersing it in boiling water, ready to serve in 30 to 45 minutes.

[13][14] The Unitized Group Ration – A (UGR-A) is the successor to the A-ration, and consists of perishable entrées intended to be prepared in a field kitchen.

Designed to suit the needs of the U.S. Marine Corps, each UGR-M comes with ingredients that are primarily tailored toward specific recipes but could potentially be used to prepare other dishes.

[20] The UGR-E in particular was positively received, with the holiday menu singled out as "a morale booster" for soldiers otherwise unable to have proper Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners on deployment.